Imaging of the Cervical Spine > Technique > Quiz


Quiz

1) After falling from a tree and landed on his head, in addition to neck pain, the patient is complaining of weakness of his left hand. Which of the following should be done:

Plain films of the cervical spine.
 Plain films and CT of the cervical spine.
 Plain films, CT and MRI of the cervical spine.

2) Visualization of C7-T1:

Is important because it is a frequently injured location
 Can be omitted if the pain is high in the neck
 Can be enhanced by arm traction
 Means seeing at least the upper margin of T1

3) If a C Spine injury is suspected:

Obtain a lateral view
 Obtain a lateral, an AP and an odontoid view
 Obtain and evaluate a lateral view. If there is not an apparent fracture or dislocation, get the AP view and odontoid view.

4) The most frequent cause of overlooked C spine injury is an inadequate film series.

True
 False

5) When should a CT be obtained?

CT is more accurate and if cost were not an issue, all should get CT.
 CT is not useful for evaluating cervical spine injury and is very expensive.
 CT should be obtained if there is a question of injury on plain film.
 C spine injury is very expensive -- we should spare no expense to diagnose with a CT scan.

6) What should be done if a fracture is not seen and the patient continues to complain of neck pain?

MRI is excellent in this situation because it shows the cord and soft tissues
 Flexion and extension views
 CT with coronal and sagital reconstructions

Your score is out of 6.

Answers